Time is What it is : Flashbacks
by Noun Nerd
Summary: What happened between Rikku and Gippal and what will happen ? Maybe Flashbacks will help them figure things out ... Not completed yet Gippal x Rikku. Remake of an old story of mine.


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Time is what it is:**  
Flashbacks.**

by:

Relinx.

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This is actually a remake of an old story of mine.. which isn't complete. And yeah, kinda BAD TT.TT..Nhehe.  
I'm not English, far from o.o... But I'm trying and I hope you're so kind-hearted to forgive me for my grammar, etc. (though I do appreciate someone who points me at my mistakes. Still gotta learn much.)

Anywayzzz, I don't own Final fantasy nor its Characters. ( Though I want to own Gippal , Rrawtsj? xD )

Enjoy and pls, you all are welcome to review( I appreciate all kind of comments.. A person's got to grow, right? And I'm a big girl so I can handle Critic. Though! Who doesn't like a good comment? :P Keeps ya going, Ya know! )

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On a bright day in errr,.. peaceful Spira:

"Gippal, **you big BIG meanie**!" A Lively blond girl shouted from the top of her longs, stamping uncontrollably with her feet on the ground.

Normally a big smile was planted on her little face but the only thing that could be found now were twitching eyebrows. You could see she was rather annoyed.

The boy in front of her was still laughing. He was dressed in a purple costume, decorated with stripes, belts and protective gears. "Haha! Can't Cid's little girl handle a little joke?" Gippal said with a voice full of satisfaction, thinking that an annoyed rikku was.. well yeah, kinda cute.

Rikku's eyebrows started to twitch a little more.. Those 'little' jokes were starting to piss her off, which didn't happen so often.

Rikku was always a happy cheerful girl that could laugh jokes away. Paine used to tease her a lot back in the time of the Gullwings, but that was different.. She knew that Paine liked her ,even a little, despite her cold appearance.

But Gippal.. he was a whole other kind of story.

Rikku recollected what happened:

Because the sun was shining so bright and strong ,Rikku decided to go dig up some machina in Bikanel Desert this afternoon.

Bikanel desert was her second most favourite place in whole of Spira!

She could spend hours in this big beautiful desert not being bored for one second.. There was always something to here. If it wasn't digging up parts of machina, it was fighting fiends or enjoying the beautifulness of the little heaven on earth for this young Al Bhed girl.

While starting to dig her fingers into the warm sand and scooping it away, she slowly began to drift away in her thoughts.

"..This place sure does bring up some memories." She thought. Even though Rikku wasn't a big fan of memories, she couldn't help but to make a little but yet meaningful smile.

Too bad for her somebody else had planned to make that smile disappear soon.

Keeping herself busy with reminiscing and digging, Rikku didn't hear the footsteps behind her ,which were becoming louder and louder.

She suddenly felt someone jerking her pants backwards in a glimpse and pouring something warm and unpleasant down.

"Aaaah!!" She screamed ,surprised by the sudden 'attack'. The unpleasant feeling were like ten thousands of little rocks rolling over and scratching her bare skin.

Well, Actually it **WERE** ten thousands little rocks rather known as sand.

" Aww, Poopiee…Come on!!" She cursed after she stood up and saw the sand falling out of the pipes of her little green pants, which she used to wear on her adventure with Yuna, Tidus and the rest of the guardians.

" That face.was.priceless!" Said the cultrip who was laughing himself to death. The picture of Rikku's shocked face kept on replaying in his head.

Rikku herself was stupefied by the voice she could recognize in a million. " I could have guessed it.." She sighed heavily.

Off all the people she knew, HE was the only one capable of such a lame prank. Actually he was the only one who did these kind of pranks on her.She turned herself into the direction of the male-voice , Suspecting a strong, muscled man with a black eyepatch.

**"GIPPAL, YOU BIG MEANIE!!"**

…

_Back in the presence._

" You call this a little joke, Gippal?" She asked him straight ,with a glaring expression.

" I wouldn't call it a big joke, if that's whadya mean." He smirked. What's the problem, anyway? He thought.

" I wouldn't even call it a joke, .." She glared back.

Gippal stared for a bit to Rikku who ,he saw, was getting a bit upset. " Hey ya,.." Gippal started to scratch his hair. His laughter started to fade away until it became a uncomfortable smile, but not knowing any better..: " You're really such a Woos.. Making such a fuss over a Tinybit of sand."

Rikku was slowly reaching her boiling point. The spikehaired guy in front of her made her feel all kind of feelings... The bad and the good, but lately the only feelings she got were anger and sadness.

She thought she had grown up and could handle all this feelings, but she was wrong.. She couldn't handle them.

No, even worse.. They slowly started to chew on her, on her happiness, on her motivation, on her self-confidence.

Losing it, she shouted:" First I DO can handle a joke once or twice,.. Sec. I DO can handle sand, but not if you put it in my pants," Like a teacher punishing a school kid, the Al Bhed girl started to point her finger to the..little astonished Gippal.

He had never seen her getting so angry. A bit out of breath but louder as ever, rikku continued:" And Third of all: I'VE GOT A NAME AND IT'S NOT WOOS NOR CID'S LITTLE GIRL : So you do the math, Gippal!"

Rikku's cheeks were as red as the scarlet-red scarf that she wore around her neck. She had it.. She couldn't handle it anymore. She couldn't deal with Gippal anymore nor with her feelings that started to overflow. Her heart had taken over again.

A little bit scared of her own reaction, Rikku's hands reached for her lips.. As if she was trying to hold back the words that were forming in her mouth.

But words were not the only things that were taking form.. She felt her eyes getting wet from behind and her vision started to get blurrier with the seconds.

" no.." She whispered softly " ..no no!..I don't want him to see this tears. He'll get what he wanted then.." Rikku turned around, she wanted to hide.. As fast as her legs could carry her ,Rikku ran away from Gippal.

Gippal went blank.. It all happened so fast. " Waait, Rikku!.." He shouted, stretching out his arm but she was already to far. " Ah, come on girl!" He started to run after her." Rikku, don't be like that! Stop running." He shouted but Rikku ignored him.  
Had he really gone to far ,he wondered?.. It really was just a bit of sand, wasn't it. ' _Girls, they really are too sensitive ..geez_" He thought, still chasing after her. But he had to hand it over to Rikku : She could run fast.

" Stop following.." Rikku shouted between her tears, hearing his heavy boots closing in on her.

" Just stop running!" Gippal responded, adding a little more of speed.

"No!.. JUST LEA-..Aah." Rikku's foot got stuck behind a rock she had missed because of the now really blurry view. Losing her balance, she fell hard onto the ground.

"RIKKU!!" The Al-Bhed boy shouted. He ran to Rikku faster as ever. " You 'kay?!" He asked concerned because it was a quite heavy fall. "Rikku?.." He dropped himself on his knees, not caring that it would make his clothes dirty. " Let me see your face." Gippal tried to catch a view of her, but Rikku stubborn as ever covered herself with her small female hands and tried to turn away.

" I'm fine, just go.." She said ,now hiding her face into the lap of her legs and pushing Gippal away with her free hands.

" Rikku,..?" He saw drops of water rolling over her legs into the sand, leaving a little print. Gippal was now getting very concerned. " Are you crying?" He asked with a tender voice.

" No, I'm not!" She shouted.

" Yes, you are!" Gippal shouted back,.. The stubbornness of Rikku was making him a bit agitated ' 'A real Al-bhed stubborn nature.' He thought . He just wanted to know if she was hurt. " You have any pain?"

" Since when do you care?.." She said sad, still hiding herself from Gippal. He just didn't understand, did he..?

" Rikku.. You know I care!" Gippal said back impulsively. He really meant what he said. This girl is the only thing he ever cared for, the only thing on his mind. " Your foot isn't broken, is it?"

" No,.." She said ,still sad. He really didn't understand,.. He cared? As if. Still making jokes now: he was the worst.

" Do you have any scratches? Bruises? Ya bleeding?.. Please, Rikku." He grabbed her small-looking legs with his strong hands,..

Rikku suddenly felt shivers running down her spine. This warm touch made her body glow. Shocked she looked up to Gippal, not understanding much herself.  
She wanted to hate this insensitive guy.. This bully! But yet she still felt this feeling.. This feeling she had to house for many years. This feeling she had to hide and neglect for so many years.

Her love for him.. **Her very first love.**

" I'M Not hurt!! You really don't get the point , now, do you?" She cried.

Gippal's mouth fell open at the sight of the broken face of Rikku.. Tears kept rolling over her soft,red cheeks and he could feel her pain through her beautiful emerald eyes .He couldn't express a single word. But seeing her like this broke his own heart. Her face should always smile.. He thought.

"What..what point?" He said, a bit trembling. He didn't understand... If she wasn't hurt, then was she crying that heavily for his sand-prank?.." Rikku, don't cry.. I was just teasing you."

He wanted to grab her by her shoulder to comfort her, but Rikku slapped his hands away: " Gippal! You idiot!.." She shouted even more upset. She felt her cheeks glowing even more. " It's not because of that prank I'm crying. It's.. It's.."

she looked at him.." It's because of .. You."

Gippal laughed uncomfortably : "Because of me?" ..

She nodded.

" But..I..I..I don't understand?" He said utterly astonished. He was speechless. He made her cry? But that was everything he didn't want to happen! " WHY?"

" That's what I like to ask you.. Why Gippal? WHY?" Rikku grasped his hands, and started to squeeze them tightly. " Do you hate me that bad, Gip'?"

"Hate? I don't hat-"

"You used to be my best friend!" She interfered him.. " You used to comfort me when I felt down. We were the best of friends.  
You told jokes , you made me laugh , you used to protect me . Giving me that feeling I was special , giving me that feeling that someone needed me , someone cared for me , someone loved me." Rikku's heart was overflowed once again with feelings.  
"We played together . We searched machina together and after that we fixed them together . We did everything together , we were a team . But everything went wrong! You started to ignore , bully and tease me . And if that wasn't good enough you left me and the others in disarray to join some squad …" Rikku paused for a moment, looking at Gippal. She wanted an answer,.. Something to make her feel better, just a little.

But Gippal's answer stayed away.

" Do you know how much that hurt?" She asked softly, squeezing his hands a little too hard. " How much it hurts to have your best friend go against you?.. But you don't understand Gippal, You really can't understand or you don't want to! You're such a idiot" She cried.

" RIKKU, I-" Gippal wanted to make her stop talk. Every word spoken was like a knife cutting both of them.. Her feelings were finally coming to him. He had really hurt her.. Didn't he?  
But he didn't know how else to approach her after the '_accident'_.. " I'm Sor-"

" I HATE YOU, GIPPAL!!" Rikku shouted suddenly, crying the last bits of tears out of her eyes and letting go of his hands. Gippal eyes widened.. Those words were the final blow for him. Defeated he stared blankly into the horizon: " Hate me..?" He repeated softly.

Rikku grasped her mouth.. Did she just say that?.. Did she really?? Those words just came out of her mouth when she was caught up in the moment ..but it was too late to take the words back. Maybe it was her unconsciousness trying to tell her to let go of him.  
To let go of the man that was always on her mind, in her live.. The man that was everywhere to her. She had to forget him.  
This time she would give up.. Cause she knew that her love was one-sided. Gippal could never love her back..

" I would appreciate it if you leave me alone, Gippal, forever .. Okay?" She said sad.. The words alone were hard to say, but she had to.. If not, she could never forget him. She stood up, and wiped off the sand of her clothes.

Gippal didn't answer.. His world was crashing down. Leaving her for forever? HE COULDN'T!! NO! Not again. He didn't want to leave or say goodbye to his love,.. **His very first love.**  
Unable to say any words.. Rikku nodded, " I'll take that as a yes.. Bye Gippal.." Rikku said, already stepping away too a Saving-Sphere to bring her back to the peaceful Celsius. The Airship that was the home to the Gullwings, to her.

Leaving a emotionless Gippal behind.

" I'm sorry, my al-bhed girl.." He whispered again ,though Rikku was already gone. He wished he could turn back the hands of time, back to when everything was alright between them. Back to the happy days.. "But time goes on and on everyday " He sighed,.. " Time is what it is."

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WHaaaaah, that's that.. I hope you liked it. I thought it was fun too remake this story( well yeah , this first chapter.)! .. Geeez, reaallllyyy.. Now I am the one having flashbacks!  
Anyway, I rly hope you enjoyed reading! And again sry for my english.

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